1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hand recording apparatus manually operated to effect image recording on a recording medium and to a movement guide for moving the hand recording apparatus properly in a predetermined direction.
Herein, the hand recording apparatus is a recording apparatus which effects image recording on a recording medium (such as, for example, plain paper, cloth or a plastic sheet) while being manually moved by the operator. The hand recording apparatus covers an apparatus connected to a main apparatus (for example, a word processor or a typewriter) to effect image recording in conformity with image information from the main apparatus, and an apparatus having in itself an image information input mechanism. The images include, for example, characters, numerals, patterns and figures.
2. Related Background Art
Nowadays, word processors and the like are widely popular, and as the output apparatuses of these word processors and the like, there are heat transfer type recording apparatuses using an ink ribbon.
The construction of the heat transfer type recording apparatus is such that a recording head adapted to generate heat in response to an image signal is carried on a movable carriage. The carriage is moved by a motor and the recording head is drivingly controlled so as to be synchronized with the movement of the carriage. The ink of the ink ribbon is melted in the form of an image pattern, which is transferred to a recording medium such as recording paper. It is the usual practice to repeat such a printing operation for each line to thereby accomplish recording.
The above-described heat transfer type recording apparatus is compact and light in weight and produces only low noise and therefore is widely used as the output apparatus of a word processor or the like.
The above-described recording apparatus has a feed mechanism for the carriage, a recording paper feeding mechanism, etc. and is therefore complex in structure, and the thickness, size, etc. of recording paper on which recording can be effected is limited. That is, there has been the problem that it is difficult to effect recording on paper thicker than a predetermined thickness or larger than a predetermined size.
So, there has heretofore been proposed a recording apparatus whose body can be manually scanned (Japanese Patent Publication No. 40289/1975). This recording apparatus is such that it is placed on recording paper and manually moved thereon and a recording head is driven so as to be synchronized with the movement speed of the apparatus, thereby accomplishing recording. This recording apparatus can effect recording even on booklet-like recording paper and can be made compact.
However, the manually scanned recording apparatus does not have a recording paper feeding mechanism and a guide mechanism for guiding the movement of the apparatus body and is therefore liable to move in a zigzag direction when the apparatus body is manually moved.
Accordingly, it is difficult to maintain the inter-line space constant when recording a writing over several lines, and further, there has been the problem that it is also difficult to accurately record enlarged characters or symbols over several lines.